A win is a win, emphasises Cyril Ramaphosa

The ANC has taken to the streets outside its Luthuli House headquarters in the Johannesburg CBD to celebrate its victory.

This comes after the party received more than 10 million in this year's elections.

The governing party, which has been in power since the first democratic elections in 1994, garnered 57.51% at the polls, on the back of numerous scandals and projections that coalition governments might have to be formed.

“They thought that the ANC was going to lose power, we showed them that the ANC is a victorious organisation of our people,” said party president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa is expected to be elected as president of the country in the National Assembly in the coming days. He admitted that the campaign for the 2019 polls was the “most difficult”.

“They thought the ANC would get under 50% [of votes]. They expected that, they were betting on that, praying for that, they were dreaming about it, they were wishing for it, others went to see sangomas about it,” he said.

Ramaphosa also admitted Gauteng was the party’s biggest challenge, having garnered 50.19%.

“They thought we had lost Gauteng but we knew it would come through. It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there,” he said.

He told thousands who had gathered outside the headquarters that opposition parties were desperate to see the ANC lose the country’s economic hub.

“Now they are disappointed, licking their wounds and have gone back to their corners,” said Ramaphosa.

Earlier, the party’s head of elections Fikile Mbalula told the crowd that Gauteng had given the ANC “palpitations”.

“It was difficult, it felt like this thing was leaving us,” he said in IsiZulu, before praising ANC supporters in different parts of the province and warning DA Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba they were coming for the city.

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